There’s disagreement on Troy Proctor’s plan

Posted below is Saturday’s story on the redevelopment proposal that would include turning the Proctor’s block in Troy into a home for City Hall. A noteworthy aspect of the story is that Mayor Harry Tutunjian, pictured at left, was not supportive of the plan.

“Why spend over $14 million in taxpayer’s money to buy back a building RPI purchased and promised to redevelop?” Tutunjian said in an e-mail sent to me Friday. “After spending over $14 million, the theater will still be unusable but becomes the responsibility of the city to maintain and restore.”

Here’s the story:

TROY — A developer has proposed the dramatic remaking of a Fourth Street block, this week unveiling a plan that includes making a site near Proctor’s Theater home to City Hall.

Columbia Development, the Albany company behind the new Hoosick Street hotel and many of the new buildings along New Scotland Avenue in Albany, is proposing to demolish two buildings immediately north of Proctor’s in Troy for the construction of City Council chambers and city offices.

Columbia would also redevelop office space attached to Proctor’s and the Chasen building at the corner of Fourth and Broadway. The grand auditorium at Proctor’s, abandoned for more than three decades and owned by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, would be stabilized but not immediately restored.

Columbia discussed its proposal this week at a City Council committee meeting attended by Council President Clem Campana, who outlined the plan for the Times Union.

Campana, a Democrat, supports the proposal, saying it “would bring some life” to a Fourth Street block that has long been a downtown eyesore and an impediment to Troy’s revitalization.

Mayor Harry Tutunjian on Friday expressed skepticism about the Columbia proposal and its cost.

“Ideas are cheap; reality is expensive,” the mayor, a Republican, said in an e-mailed statement. “We have a very functional and affordable City Hall now.”

Under the Columbia proposal the city would pay $690,000 annually in rent for seven years — more than twice what it pays for its current Sixth Avenue home — and would later have the option to purchase the site outright for $6.5 million.

The project would also be aided by a previously awarded $4 million grant from the state.

“Why spend over $14 million in taxpayer’s money to buy back a building RPI purchased and promised to redevelop?” Tutunjian asked in the e-mail. “After spending over $14 million, the theater will still be unusable but becomes the responsibility of the city to maintain and restore.”

Last year, Columbia proposed a different plan for redeveloping Proctor’s, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. That proposal included demolishing the theater space for new offices and redeveloping the Chasan and adjacent office space.

But there was immediate opposition to the theater demolition from residents who believe the theater is an irreplaceable city asset, despite its deteriorated condition.

Erica Veil, president of Troy Proctor’s Foundation, a grassroots group formed in opposition to the initial plan, is pleased that demolition is now off the table.

But on Friday she wondered what her group’s role would be in the redevelopment plans, and questioned whether Columbia would construct office space that would complement Fourth Street.

Joe Nicolla, president of Columbia Development, did not respond to a request for comment.

The Council has scheduled a public hearing on the plan for Thursday at 6 p.m. The location has not been finalized, but it’s likely the hearing will be held at the Christ Church United Methodist building, on State Street downtown.

That’s the building the Troy City Council has been using for its meetings since the relocation of City Hall.